


4 AM

by seraphina_snape



Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, Vietnam War, War, nightmares about the war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 09:23:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4429967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphina_snape/pseuds/seraphina_snape
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick has a nightmare. Luckily for him, Cody is right there to help him through it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	4 AM

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [**pier56**](http://pier56.livejournal.com/) [I love him because](http://pier56.livejournal.com/303326.html) fest and loosely inspired by the first prompt on the list ("wake up at 4am just to listen to you talk about a bad dream you just had"). It turned out a little less fluffy than I had intended, but I don't think anyone's going to mind a "Cody comforts Nick after a nightmare" fic. *g*

The air was filled with hot smoke and the stench of death. Small particles of ash and things Nick didn't even want to think about burned in his lungs as he wiped the sweat off his brow and risked a quick glance over the top of the wall he was cowering behind. Cody was nowhere in sight. They'd gotten separated after the firefight first broke out - he'd dashed left into a gap between the houses and Cody had thrown himself back and to the right to avoid the hail of bullets. 

_"Wake up!"_

The dull impact of bullets where his head had been only moment earlier made Nick's heart race. The bullets tore into the wall, sending shards of brick and mortar into the air. Nick scrambled along the wall, keeping as low as he could to stay out of sight. There was a gap between the wall and the row of houses on the other side of the street. He'd have to risk it - it was only a matter of time before they got him if he stayed where he was. Besides, he had to find the rest of the guys. 

He had to find Cody. 

Up ahead, out of sight from his position behind the wall, Nick heard an explosion. A cloud of debris and who knew what else was catapulted into the air, the only visible clue about the true location of the blast from his position. Before his hearing could recover, the firefight picked up in intensity and Nick winced. If there was one thing about war that he hated unreservedly it was all the noise. The smells were horrible and the pain was unbearable some days, but the noise never seemed to stop. 

_"Nick! Come on!"_

Startled, Nick twisted his head around. Apart from the two dead soldiers a few dozen feet behind him, he couldn't see anyone. He could hear plenty of people somewhere outside of his field of vision, but for all intents and purposes he was alone on this side of the low wall. But he could have sworn --

_"Nick, man, snap out of it!"_

Cody. He'd definitely heard him this time. But how? Cody wasn't there. How could he be hearing Cody when-- Oh, God. No. For a moment, Nick's mind went blank before his entire being was flooded with the terrible feeling that something was seriously wrong with Cody. How else could he be hearing Cody's disembodied voice? How could Cody be here, talking to him, when he was caught on the wrong side of an ambush and without back-up? 

Nick had heard stories. Soldiers who'd died and been revived, telling stories from the other side. Soldiers who swore their buddy had helped them out of a tight spot only to be told that their buddy had been one of the first to die in the skirmish. 

Not Cody. Please, Nick begged silently, not Cody. 

_"Nick, you have to wake up! Come on, snap out of it - you're having a nightmare!"_

Nick's eyes snapped open and he blinked, momentarily blinded. One moment, he'd been crouching behind an old brick wall that was crumbling under a steady assault and the next he was curled up in their bed, with Cody sitting nearly on top of him, holding down his wrists. 

"Cody?" 

Cody relaxed his hold on Nick's wrists - even though he didn't let go entirely - and let out a sigh. "Yeah. You awake now, babe?" 

"I--Yeah. I think," Nick said. The bedside lamp on Cody's side was casting a small circle of yellow light, and Nick drank in the sight of Cody. Older than in his dream, with longer hair but the same mustache. Instead of combat gear, he was wearing shorts and an old t-shirt. But despite the visual confirmation that Cody was fine, Nick's entire body felt like an overdrawn bow. 

"Come here," Cody said. Without waiting for a response, he lowered himself back down onto the bed. He tugged at Nick's wrists until Nick lying half on top of him, and then unceremoniously wrapped his arms around him. 

Nick tried to fall into the embrace, to let it go and trust Cody to catch him, but the muscles in his back were like sheets of metal, hard and inflexible and resisting any attempt to relax. He was too tense even for the tremors that usually wracked his body after the nightmare-fueled adrenaline stopped being pumped into his system. 

Cody didn't seem to care or notice. He had one hand on the back of Nick's neck, brushing his thumb through sweat-damp hair. The other hand slowly, steadily moved up and down Nick's stiff and unyielding back in a warm caress. 

Nick didn't know how long it took until he felt himself relax a little, until his leg stopped lying across Cody's legs like a plank someone had thrown aside and instead shifted a little until it fit snugly between Cody's thighs. His face was buried in Cody's shoulder, drinking in the familiar scents of sea salt, sweat and surfboard wax. That more than anything reassured him that Cody was okay and that they were both still alive. 

"Better?" Cody asked, the hand on Nick's back coming to a stop just above the waistband of his shorts.

Nick nodded and then turned his head, letting his lips ghost over the skin at Cody's throat. "Yeah," he whispered. "Thanks." 

"Any time you need me, Nick," Cody said, brushing a soft kiss over his forehead. "Any time." 

Nick didn't respond. He didn't need to - Cody knew that he'd do the same. He had, in fact, done the same on many occasions. Neither of them were strangers to nightmares to intense that they could hear the screams and explosions and cries even when they were mostly awake. There was no doubt in Nick's mind that Cody would always be there to ground him, just like he would move heaven and earth to make sure Cody didn't have to be alone after a night like this. 

Wrapped in Cody's warm embrace, Nick slowly felt himself sink back into sleep. Smiling a little, he knew that his next dream would be a good one. After all, how could it not be, with Cody keeping watch over him?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
